Tobacco



TED STATES HAROLD HIBBERT, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO THE COMMERCIAL RESEARCH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

' TOBACCO.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

No Drawing. Application fi1ed March 20, 1917, Serial No. 156,194. Renewed July 20, 1921. Serial No. 486,281.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD HIBBERT, a subject of Great Britaimresiding in Toronto, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. v

This invention relates to improvements in tobacco and particularly to the imparting of moisture retaining properties thereto and to the tobacco products or compositions thereby produced.

In the production of tobacco and particularly of plug tobacco or tobacco for chewing purposes, it is important that the tobacco should be kept in a moist condition or at a uniform consistency.

The present invention is based upon the discovery that such moisture retaining property can be imparted to the tobacco and to tobacco compositions by the incorporation therein of 1.2-glycols or mixtures of such glycols with water.

In referring to 1.2-glycols I include within this term the individual 1.2-glycols, such as ethylene, propylene and butylenc glycols, (Geneva names, 1.2-ethandiol; 1.2- propandiol; 1.2-butandiol), as well as mixtures of two or more of these glycols or of such glycols or olyglycols derived therefrom. These ind ividual glycols as well as their mixtures have great water absorbing power. This power or affinity for water is in fact so great that upon exposure to the atmosphere, the lycols will take up and retain very consi erable amounts of water. Thus as much as 30 to 40% or even more of the weight of the glycol or glycols may be absorbed and retained. Accordingly by incorporating the glycols with the tobacco to be kept moist, or byincorporating there with a mixture of the glycols and water, the moisture retaining properties of the glycols will tend to hold the normal content of water contained in the tobacco or even increase this content where the glycols have not absorbed all the water which they are capable of absorbing from the atmosphere in which the products are kept. Drying up of the tobacco can thus be prevented by the incorporation therein of the glycols either by permitting the glycols to absorb additional amounts of water from the atmosphere or bymixing the water with glycols before their use so that they will retain the mo1st properties thus imparted to the tobacco.

As compared with glycerine, the 1.2-glycols present the advantage of being less viscous, of being cheaper and hence commercially more readily available, and of otherwise having important advantages. Furthermore, the fact that the glycols are less viscous than glycerine and the further fact that they possess important and even in some cases, improved solvent properties, makes it possible to use them as solvents or vehicles for incorporating other constituents therewith in the tobacco which is to be given the desired moisture retaining prop erties. Thus honey or sugar or maple syrups or other constituents soluble in the glycols can be dissolved therein and incorporated at the same time with the tobacco. Because of the fact that the glycols are less viscous than glycerine, larger amounts of such constituents can be dissolved in a given amount of the glycol solvent and a relatively less amount of the glycol used for a given amount of the other constituents to be incorporated. The use of the glycols also allows of a greater range of concentration of the added materials making it possible to add either concentrated or dilute solutions as may be best adapted for the particular treatment in view. Because of the fact that the glycols are not as sweet as glycerine their utilization in place of the glycerine has the further advantage that the taste of the tobacco to which they are added is not so greatly modified and that any dissolved constituents, such as honey or sugar are made to retain their individual attributes of taste, sweetness, etc., to a greater extent.

The following more detailed description 'further illustrates the invention.

Smoking tobacco is sprayed with an aqueous mixture or solution of a 1.2-glycol or mixture of such glycols, containing e.g., 50 to 60% of the same, until. the amount deposited on the tobacco is roughly equivalent to about 3% of its weight. Such tobacco will be found to retain its fragrant character for a longer period of time and furthermore will not dry out to the extent it would in the absence of the glycol or glycol mixture.

In the manufacture of plug tobacco, the tobacco leaf can be first passed throu h the usual mixture containing licorice and oney, or other ap ropriate flavoring materials, etc. and allowed to drain, and then impregnated with the glycol or glycols by spraying the same in suflicient quantity to leave in the final product an amount corresponding roughly to of the weight of the original tobacco. Again the glyco or glycols can be incorporated with licorice or other flavoring materials and thereby incorporated with the tobacco at the same. time, thus serving also in part as a solvent of other materials soluble therein. The resulting plug tobacco will be found to retain its moist character and pleasing taste for prolonged periods of time.

The individual 1.2-glycols, or the mixture of 1..2-glycols can be produced in various ways. For example, ethylene glycol can be produced from alcohol by first converting the alcohol into ethylene, chlorinating the ethylene, and heating the resulting chloride with an aqueous solution of sodiumcarbonate. A mixture of ethylene, pro ylene and butylene glycols can be obtained from oil gas by subjecting the oil gas to a cracking process, chiorinating the resulting unsaturated hydro-carbons, and converting the chlorinated hydro-carbons into 1.2-glycols by heating with an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate. These methods of producing the 1.2-glycol or mixture of such glycols are referred to as instances of how they may be prepared on a commercial scale. I do not, however, in the resent instance limit myself to any articu ar method of preparing the 1.2-glyco s, since obviously many different methods are available, and the particular method employed forms no part of the present invention.

'When the 1.2-glycols or mixture of such glycols are heated or are suitably treated with a condensing or catalytic agent they are condensed to varying degrees with the production of so-called polyglycols which are formed from two or more molecules of the individual glycols b the elimination of water. Usually, upon heating the 1.2-glycols or treating with a condensing or catalytic agent the polyglycols will be produced only to a small extent, although by prolongin the process the amount can be increase The polyglycols, as well as the glycols, have valuable moisture-retaining properties, and can be used in substantially the same manner. Accordingly, for purposes of the present invention, I use the term 1.2- glycol or IQ-glycols with a more general signification to include not only .the individual 1.2-glyc'ols and their mixtures, but also the. polyglycols derived from the mixture of such glycols with polyglycols, or of such g1 cols with other constituents with which t ey are miscible.

I claim 4 1. The method of imparting moisture-retaining properties to tobacco which comprises incorporating therewith a glycol or mixture of glycols or a mixture of glycol or glycols with water, substantially as described.

2. The method of imparting moisture-retaining properties to tobacco which comprises incorporating therewith a glycol or mixture of glycols, or a mixture of glycol or glycols with water by spraying the tobacco wlth the same during the manufacture of the tobacco, glycol or glycols having the hydroxyl radicals attached to adjacent carbon atoms substantially as described.

3. The method of imparting moisture-retaining properties to tobacco, which comprises incorporating therewith a glycol.

4. The method of imparting moisture-retaining properties to tobacco, which comprises incorporating therewith a glycol having its hydroxyl radicals attached to adjacent carbon atoms.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a tobacco product containing a glycol.

6. As a new article of manufacture, tobacco having incorporated therein a glycol or mixture of ;such glycols, such tobacco having moisture-retaining properties due to Such glycols contained therein, substantially as described.

7. As a new article of manufacture, tobacco havin incorporated therein a mixture of water wit a 1.2-glycol or mixture of such glycols, said tobacco having moisture-retaining properties due to its content of such mlxture, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

HAROLD HlBBERT. 

